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UNTTED STATEs PATENT Tries.

RICHARD H. BUEL AND HENRY L. BREVOORT, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y.

WATERPROOFING STARCHED FABRIC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 303,616, dated August 19, 1884,

Application filed July 11, 1883. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that we, RICHARD H. Born. and HENRY L. Bnnvoonr, both of the city, county, and State of New York, have made a new and useful invention in WVaterproofing Certain Fabrics, which are stiffened, given a finish or surface by starch, gum, or other material, which is readily and injuriously affected by water at the ordinary temperatures, and which fabrics will withstand benzine or naphtha and paraffine when applied thereto.

The kind of goods which are adapted for treatment in order to form the articles of manufacture which are the subject of our present application, are all goods which derive their value from the fact that they are stiffened, surfaced, or finished with starch, gums, or their equivalents, and which materials are readily affected by water at the ordinary temperatures, but which stiffening, surfacing, or finishing material is not inj uriously affected by benzine, naphtha, or paraffine. For example, the goods which can be treated, and'which form the articles herein claimed, are ladies and gentle made of material called crepe lisse, bobbinet, Swiss, mul1, Victoria lawn, linen or paper collars or cuffs, shirt-fronts, 850., all of which are either stiffened, surfaced; or finished with a material which is inj uriously affected by water or moisture at the ordinary temperatures, and which are not injuriously affected by pa'raffine and benzine or naphtha.

The ordinary waterproofing compounds consist of materials which are solvents of or injurionsly affect the substances used to stiffen, finish, or surface such articles as we have enumerated, or their equivalents, and consequently when a piece of goods completely manufactured and finished in all other respects is treated by such waterproofing mixtures the goods are spoiled by such treatment, and they lose their commercial value. \Ve use such materials as do not appreciably affect the stiffening, surfacing, or finishing material or materials used in such goods, and consequently the above difficulty is avoided. Ve take commercial paraffine and dissolve it, either hot or cold, in benzine or naphtha, or a mixture of both-such as is procurable in large quantities commercially.

The purer forms of the mens neck-wear, such as laces or ruffiings materials are perhaps the best, but need not be used in practice. e take, by volu1ne,one part of paraffine and from five to thirty volumes of benzine or naphtha, and allow the former to be dissolved by the latter, when a thin-colorless liquid results, resembling water in appearance. For the finer goods-such as rufiiin gs, lace, ttc.we use the compounds having the smallest amount of parafiine, and for the coarser articles-such as collars, cuffs, 85c. the compounds having the greatest quantity of paraffine. The exact proportion depends upon the quality of the goods to be treated.

To water-proof such articles as are adapted to our process, we immerse them in the liquid, either hot or cold, for such articles as collars or cuffs, preferably, (the time is not material;) or, for such articles as crepe lisse or very fine goods, we prefer to spray them with the waterproofing-liquid through such nozzles as are ordinarily used for atomizers which serve to distribute in fine spray perfumes or medicines. In no case must the coating be one which is readily detected, and it must be graduated in quantity according to the delicacy of the articles to be made waterproof or water repellent. After the goods have been thus treated we dry them, and we have found that the best mode of doing this is to heat them in a chamber the temperature of which is above that of melting paraifine-viz: 130 to 150 Fahrenheit. This treatment removes the smell of the waterproofing materials used, and makes the goods as water repellant as they can be rendered by our process. The heating in the hot-chamber should last a sufcient length of time to remove all smell of the applied material, and we have found that from a few minutes to two hours treatment will remove the smell from the various articles which we have enumerated, the finer articles requiring the shortest treatment in the hot-chamber. WVhen the goods are treated by spraying them, it is advisable to confine them in a chamber, through which they may be passed, and from one to four or more jets of spray can be advantageously used.

The waterproofing compound which we use being of such anature as not injuriously to affect the stiffening or finishing material used in the goods, and which stiffening, surfacing,

or finishing material would be my uriously affected by water at ordinary temperatures, our compound can be applied without causing the goods either to lose their color, shape, stiffness, finished appearance, orsurface when they are treated after being completely finished in all other respects. Articles which can be washed-such as linen collars or cuffsmay have our waterproofing compound washed out therefrom in water warm enough to dis solve parafline. Goods thus treated are waterrepellent, and nearly, though not completely, water-proof.

Previous to the making of our invention we were not aware of the fact, and do not believe that others were, that such a compound as we have described would not attack the starch, gum, or other stiffening, surfacing, or finishing material used, which would be readily attacked by water at ordinary temperatures when such stiffening, surfacing, or finishing material was in the goods, or at least we are not aware and do notbeliere that the adaptability of this property of our compound was known or recognized.

Articles stiffened, finished, or surfaced by any materials,which are injuriously affected by benzine, naphtha, orparalfine arenot adapted for our treatment, and do not'l'orm the articlcs claimed herein when treated with our compound.

XVe are aware of Reissue No. 9,776, and we do not claim anything therein described or claimed.

\Ve are also aware that paraffine preparations have been used to impregnate goods and articles of various kinds for waterproofing and preservative purposes, and make no claim.

to such use, nor to coating preparations, except in connection with goods previously stiffened or finished with such materials as are readily affected by water, as described.

\Vhat we desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is 1. As a new article of manufacture, goods stiffened, finished, or surfaced with such ma tcrials as are readily affected by water at ordinary temperatures with an outer coating resulting from treating the surfaced goods with a solution of paraffine and. benzine or naphtha, and afterward subjecting the goods to heat, to

render them water-repellent, substantially as described.

2. As a new article of manufacture, goods stiffened, finished, or surfaced with such ma terials as are readily affected by water at ordinary temperatures with an outer coating re sulting from treating the goods with a solution of parafline and beuziue or naphtha, and then heating to a temperature above the meltingpoint of paraffine in order to render them water-repellent, substantially as described.

3. As a new article of manufacture, ruftling or neckru'tfling rendered water-repel]out, sub stautiall y as described.

4. As a new article of manufacture, paper or linen collars or cuffs rendered water-repellent, substantially as described.

5. As a new article of manufacture, lace reudered water repellent, substantially as de scribed.

RICHARD H. BUEL.

HENRY L. BREVOORT.

\Vitnesses:

.Tosnrn, L. LnvY, B. T. Vn'rrnnLnIN. 

